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California, 4 public soaking sites

Hot Springs in California

California State Parks runs a soaking pool at Grover Hot Springs, national forests and the BLM list wild springs at Deep Creek, Remington and Long Valley, and Lassen and Hot Creek are look but do not touch.

4
Sites listed for soaking
run by California State Parks, USDA Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management
1
No fee posted
Remington Hot Springs
304
Thermal springs on NOAA’s list
hottest listed feature 214 F
September 22, 2026
Agency pages read
each quote links the page it came from
Site by site

Public hot springs in California

4 hot springs in California are listed for soaking by the agencies that run them. Each card below carries that agency’s own fee, season, access and rules, quoted and linked, as the page read on September 22, 2026. A fee line that says nothing about cost is written as a question for the managing office rather than as free.

Grover Hot Springs State Park

Developed pool

California State Parks, Grover Hot Springs State Park

FeePool tickets are sold at the park, first come first served; day use parking is $8, $7 for seniors.
SeasonThe pool complex is open Friday through Monday.
AccessFour miles west of Markleeville at the end of Hot Springs Road.
  • No dogs in the pool complex.
  • Pool tickets are first come, first served at the park.
Visitors may soak in a mineral pool fed from six hot springs in this park amid alpine meadows and pine forests on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada.
Grover Hot Springs State Park, California State Parks, read September 22, 2026. Read it at the source
Dogs are not allowed in the hot springs pool complex
California State Parks on Grover Hot Springs State Park. Read it at the source
Tickets can be purchased at the park on a first come first serve basis.
California State Parks on Grover Hot Springs State Park. Read it at the source

Deep Creek Hot Springs

Primitive spring

USDA Forest Service, San Bernardino National Forest

FeeCheck fees with San Bernardino National Forest
AccessA steep 2.5 mile trail down from Bowen Ranch Road, which crosses private land and charges a fee, or about six miles on the Pacific Crest Trail.
  • No overnight camping or campfires; no trash service or restrooms; pack out all trash.
  • No bicycles on the Pacific Crest Trail.
Thermal hot springs located here are unique and regionally important.
Deep Creek Hot Springs, San Bernardino National Forest, read September 22, 2026. Read it at the source
No overnight camping or campfires. No trash service or restrooms available. Pack out all trash that you create
USDA Forest Service on Deep Creek Hot Springs. Read it at the source
No Bicycles on the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT)
USDA Forest Service on Deep Creek Hot Springs. Read it at the source
The Hot Springs pools of Deep Creek contain a rare and sometimes fatal disease called primary amoebic meningoencephalitis .
USDA Forest Service on Deep Creek Hot Springs. Read it at the source
It is advisable not to submerse your head.
USDA Forest Service on Deep Creek Hot Springs. Read it at the source
The highest Fecal Coliform counts are found in the Hot Springs area.
USDA Forest Service on Deep Creek Hot Springs. Read it at the source
Be aware that daytime temperatures in the summer months can easily exceed 100 degrees
USDA Forest Service on Deep Creek Hot Springs. Read it at the source

Remington Hot Springs

Primitive spring

USDA Forest Service, Sequoia National Forest, Kern River Ranger District

FeeNo fee.
SeasonJune to November, weather permitting.
AccessA short trail from Kern Canyon Road down to the Kern River; fire and flood damage may leave washouts.
  • Pack it in, pack it out.
The 0.17 Mile Remington Hot Springs Trail begins at the trailhead at Kern Canyon Road and ends at the hot springs at the Kern River.
Remington Hot Springs Trail #32E66, Sequoia National Forest, read September 22, 2026. Read it at the source
Pack it in, Pack it out.
USDA Forest Service on Remington Hot Springs. Read it at the source

Long Valley hot springs (Recreational Hot Springs tubs)

Primitive spring

Bureau of Land Management, Bishop Field Office

FeeCheck fees with Bishop Field Office
AccessDirt roads north and south of Benton Crossing Road off Highway 395.
Within Long Valley there are several natural hot springs on BLM managed land.
Recreational Hot Springs (Tubs), Bureau of Land Management, read September 22, 2026. Read it at the source
A small waterfall pouring between two pale boulders into a clear green pool, with steam drifting off the top of the fall
The falls and a lower pool at Goldbug Hot Springs, Idaho. The first quarter mile of the trail crosses private property on a public easement, and the BLM asks for dogs on a leash there. “Goldbug Hotsprings (25920311177)”, BLMIdaho, Public domain
No fee posted

Free hot springs in California

One site in California carry a fee line from the managing agency that names no charge. A parking pass, a permit for the road in or a fee at a nearby campground can still apply, and the fee line is the agency’s to change, so it is quoted here as it was written.

No Fees
USDA Forest Service on Remington Hot Springs, read September 22, 2026. Read it at the source

Remington Hot Springs is listed in full above, with season, access and rules: Remington Hot Springs.

Listed for looking at

Thermal features in California that are not for soaking

These are named by an agency as thermal features to see rather than to enter. The agency sentence and the rule that goes with it are quoted on each card.

Hot Creek Geologic Site

For viewing only

USDA Forest Service, Inyo National Forest, Mammoth Ranger District

FeeNo fee.
AccessOff Highway 395 by the Hot Creek Hatchery Road south of Mammoth Lakes, 2 miles paved then 3 miles gravel.
  • Entering the water is prohibited; no swimming.
  • Day use, 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.
  • A forest order prohibits recreating in Hot Creek through December 31, 2026.
Boiling water bubbling up from the creek bed, fumaroles and periodic geyser eruptions at Hot Creek attest to the chamber of hot magma which lies about three miles below the surface of the earth in this area.
Hot Creek Geologic Site, Inyo National Forest, read September 22, 2026. Read it at the source
Water temperatures can change rapidly, and so entering the water is prohibited.
USDA Forest Service on Hot Creek Geologic Site. Read it at the source
Day use only: open 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.
USDA Forest Service on Hot Creek Geologic Site. Read it at the source
This Forest Order prohibits recreating in Hot Creek within the Mammoth Ranger District.
USDA Forest Service on Hot Creek Geologic Site. Read it at the source
Earthquakes can cause sudden geyser eruptions and overnight appearances of new hot springs at Hot Creek.
USDA Forest Service on Hot Creek Geologic Site. Read it at the source

Bumpass Hell

For viewing only

National Park Service, Lassen Volcanic National Park

FeeCheck fees with Lassen Volcanic National Park
SeasonTrail open in summer and fall, roughly June through October.
AccessA 3 mile round trip trail from the parking area on the park highway.
  • Stay on trails and boardwalks; leaving them or entering the water is dangerous and unlawful.
A boardwalk provides up-close access to some of the hydrothermal features in the 16-acre basin.
Hydrothermal Areas, Lassen Volcanic National Park, read September 22, 2026. Read it at the source
It is dangerous and unlawful to travel off-trail or enter waters in hydrothermal areas.
National Park Service on Bumpass Hell. Read it at the source
Ground in these areas may look solid, but may actually be a thick crust hiding pools of acidic, boiling water or mud.
National Park Service on Bumpass Hell. Read it at the source
Do not touch or enter hydrothermal water.
National Park Service on Bumpass Hell. Read it at the source
How many springs

Thermal springs counted in California

NOAA’s Thermal Springs List for the United States counts 304 thermal features in California, the hottest listed at 214 F, out of 1661 across 23 states. The count is a measure of geology: Natural surface hydrothermal features (springs, pools, mud pots, mud volcanoes, geysers, fumaroles and steam vents) at 20 C (68 F) or warmer; temperatures are the maximum reported surface reading. Most sit on remote ground, on land with no public access, or too hot to approach, which is why the soaking list above is the shorter one. The hottest reading can belong to a fumarole or a steam vent rather than a pool.

Thermal Springs List for the United States, compiled by George W. Berry, Paul J. Grim and Joy A. Ikelman, NOAA Key to Geophysical Records Documentation No. 12, 1980; published by NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (formerly the National Geophysical Data Center). Data file read September 22, 2026: the thermal springs list and its documentation. Every state’s count is on the national table.

The water

What the CDC and the Park Service say about soaking

Two hazards come up in every agency’s own words: what lives in warm water, and how hot the ground and the water can be. Both are quoted below as the agencies write them, and they apply at every site above.

Always keep your head above water in hot springs and other naturally hot (geothermal) water.
CDC, Preventing Brain Infection When Swimming, read September 22, 2026. Read it at the source
Naegleria fowleri lives in soil and warm freshwater lakes, rivers, ponds, and hot springs around the world.
CDC, Naegleria fowleri Infections, read September 22, 2026. Read it at the source
Hold your nose shut or use a nose clip if you jump or dive into the water.
CDC, Preventing Brain Infection When Swimming, read September 22, 2026. Read it at the source
Avoid digging in, or stirring up, sediment in shallow fresh water. Naegleria fowleri amebas are more likely to live in sediment at the bottom of lakes, ponds, and rivers.
CDC, Preventing Brain Infection When Swimming, read September 22, 2026. Read it at the source
All thermal waters contain organisms that may cause illness, including skin rash, gastrointestinal illness (vomiting and diarrhea), or other infections that can be life-threatening.
National Park Service, swimming in Yellowstone, read September 22, 2026. Read it at the source
Burns from thermal features are a common cause of serious injury and death in the park. The ground surrounding these features may look solid, but it can be just a thin crust with super-heated water below.
National Park Service, Yellowstone safety, read September 22, 2026. Read it at the source
Even thermal runoff can be extremely hot and cause burns.
National Park Service, Yellowstone safety, read September 22, 2026. Read it at the source
Toxic gases may accumulate to dangerous levels in some hydrothermal areas. If you begin to feel sick while exploring a geyser basin, leave the area immediately.
National Park Service, Yellowstone safety, read September 22, 2026. Read it at the source
Pets are not allowed in thermal areas or on boardwalks, even if they're on a leash or carried in arms, strollers, or backpacks.
National Park Service, Yellowstone safety, read September 22, 2026. Read it at the source

California hot springs questions

Hot springs in other states

California snowpackHow deep the snow is on California's mountains, for the trails and roads into the springs.First snow in CaliforniaWhen the first snow usually falls in California, the start of the season for a warm soak.California mountain passesWinter pass conditions and chain rules on the highways to California's hot springs.Hot springs by statePublic soaking sites in every state, Hot Springs National Park and Yellowstone, and NOAA's thermal springs counts.

Compiled September 22, 2026 from California State Parks, USDA Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management pages, one per site, each linked beside its quote and read on September 22, 2026. Site types above: developed pool, primitive spring and for viewing only. Fees, seasons and access change between seasons, a spring can be closed by flood, fire or repair at short notice, and a soak is at the soaker’s own risk, so the managing office is the one to check before a trip. Every state is in the national hot springs guide.